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U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-17, Moosic, said he supports the Senate's bipartisan proposal and hasn't seen the president's, but thinks both are on the right track. Mr. Cartwright said he has no problem with developing a "path to citizenship" for law-abiding illegal immigrants.

"I think it is something that is long overdue because everybody knows there are as many as 12 million undocumented aliens living in this country. And I'd like to make taxpayers of these people. This plan not only makes taxpayers of them, but also aims to collect back taxes from them as part of their hard, but fair path to citizenship. I support that," Mr. Cartwright said of the Senate plan. "If we're going to get serious about reducing our debt, we need to be making moves like this."

Mr. Cartwright said Mr. Obama's administration had set records for deporting illegal immigrants and dismissed the notion that illegal immigrants would self-deport if their opportunities were cut off.

"That's an argument that's easily made by somebody who didn't live in the conditions that these people lived in, in whatever third world nations they came from," he said.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said he supports a way for illegal immigrants to become citizens as long as whatever bill passes ensures the nation's borders are secure. The Senate group's and the president's proposals are a major step in the right direction, he said.

"They're still in the form of statement of principles and they're not at the point where there's actual bill language," he said. "But it's very positive. You have people in both parties, some of whom have worked on this issue for a long period of time getting together ... We'll see after we get through hearings."

He stopped short of endorsing the president's or the Senate's proposals.

"I think we're going to take a close look at all the hurdles, but it seems like they've been able to get an agreement that allows people to get on that pathway," he said.

He expressed optimism that passage of a bill is likelier now than in 2007 because there is more consensus between both parties - as the president is making immigration a priority and because Latinos heavily favored Democrats in the presidential election in November.

"And I think the Republicans, because of what happened in the elections, feel a sense of urgency to get something done on this issue," he said. "I think this is a much better climate for it."

Getting the support of conservative Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is Hispanic, will be a key to passage, Mr. Casey said. Mr. Rubio is drafting his own proposals.

On the other side, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-11, Hazleton, said both proposals offer "amnesty" to people who came to the United States illegally and that's wrong.

Mr. Barletta wants enhanced enforcement of people who ignore the expiration of their visas, a crackdown on employers who hire illegal immigrants, a system for employers to check immigration status and other measures to secure the borders before even considering "a pathway to citizenship."

Mr. Barletta said the proposals will only make the problem of illegal immigration worse and are only coming up now because both parties fear political backlashes.

"Proposing a pathway to citizenship while our borders are still unsecured, while we cannot track people when their visas expire will only encourage millions of more illegal aliens to enter the country to benefit from citizenship," Mr. Barletta said.

The new illegal immigrants will only take jobs from legal immigrants who are already suffering.

"This policy is not fair to the legal immigrants who came here and waited and did nothing wrong and find it hard to get jobs," he said.

Citing a study by the conservative Heritage Foundation, Mr. Barletta said the proposals will cost the government $2.7 trillion over the next 10 years once the newly collected taxes are factored in as immigrants use the nation's social services.

"Six percent of illegal aliens do not have a high school diploma, which means that many of them are going to need the government programs, social programs to survive here," he said. "This is at a time when we're trying to balance our budget," he said. "And the number will grow ... I think this is more of a political fix than looking at good policy."

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com

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